“Stand up, let’s fight. » This is the message Amine Kessaci wanted to convey, Wednesday 19 November, the day after the funeral of his younger brother Mehdi, who was shot dead on 12 November by two men on a motorbike in broad daylight, in Marseille. “Currently we need more than 100,000 people to mobilize, stated, in “ at 8 o’clock.” from France 2, a 22-year-old environmental activist who has been fighting for several years against drug bandits and lives under police protection. This Saturday there was a mobilization at the roundabout where my sister was killed, at 3 pm. It will take thousands of us to stand up. »
“The guilt I bear is enormous,” he continued. But for Amine Kessaci, “this is not a warning crime”. “Because of the warning, later we can fix it, we can do something, he judged. Today blood was shed, yesterday I buried my brother. This is not a warning crime, this is a crime, a political crime, a crime of cowards who murdered an innocent young man. »
The association he founded, Conscience, to help the families of “narchomicide” victims, invites the public to join them to “silent white march” Saturday to support the family. “Do not be afraid”also launched Marseille’s left-wing mayor, Benoît Payan, on Wednesday to his constituents, assuring that drug traffickers, “this mafia”, “won’t silence us”in an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“National Unity”
“The response that must be given first is a form of national unity, assured Mr. Payan. It also means saying to the people who committed these murders that we are not afraid of them, that they do not scare us, that we will fight against them and that we will win on all fronts. » The boss of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, and the Green Party, Marine Tondelier, have announced their presence.
Nearly a week after the murder of Mehdi Kessaci, the fight against drug trafficking and its shortcomings dominates public debate. President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday condemned the move “inner city bourgeoisie” who finances it ” Sometimes “ drug trafficking, according to reported comments by government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon.
The Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, and his judicial counterpart, Gérald Darmanin, will travel to Marseille on Thursday, at the request of the Head of State. Emmanuel Macron asked on Tuesday to “strengthen” fight against drug trafficking by adopting the same approach as for “terrorism”after an emergency meeting at the Elysée on this issue.
Police protection
The Minister of Justice announced on Wednesday, in X, that he had requested extradition from Emirates“around fifteen” suspected drug dealer “very considerate” wanted by France. Leading figures in France’s drug trade have settled in Dubai, where they have sometimes built up significant real estate assets.
In a forum at WorldAmine Kessaci has explained that he had been forced by the police to leave Marseille in August, while regretting that the police protection given to him was not extended to his relatives. “However, who doesn’t know that my family has paid tribute? How could I not know that my family could be affected?”
A direct allusion to the 2020 murder of his older brother Brahim, then 22 years old, in the resolution of a drug trafficking related matter. Her brother, Mehdi, who wanted to become a police officer, was completely unfamiliar with human trafficking.
